


Not a Cinderella Story

by rideswraptors



Series: Gallavich Shorts [10]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Gallaghers love Mickey, Language Warnings, M/M, Mickey as a stand-in dad, Mickey is a Gallagher, Post-Wedding, fluffy nonsense, it fluffy tho, racism triggers, typical shameless warnings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24458674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rideswraptors/pseuds/rideswraptors
Summary: A lot of people were scared of Mickey. And with good reason. Mickey had seen a lot, done worse, and came out the other side better for it. That didn't happen very often to people on their side of town. Maybe people thought Mickey was bad news or that he was dangerous, but Liam didn't know that side of him. He knew the side that had always loved Ian. The side that treated all the Gallaghers like extensions of Ian, no matter how poorly that was received.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Series: Gallavich Shorts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611559
Comments: 35
Kudos: 361





	Not a Cinderella Story

Liam was used to waiting for people. Seemed like he didn’t go a day without it anymore. At least this time it was for a good reason. Mickey had just gotten off his shift, and Liam was waiting for him outside of the library. It was Saturday, so normally he wouldn’t have been there, but since it was Mickey asking, Liam agreed without even thinking about it. Mickey did a lot for him and Ian and Franny, and he didn’t ask for a lot back. And this really wasn’t a big ask. Well, it _was_ , but at the end of the day it wasn’t that big of a deal. 

So Liam sat on the library steps, reading his book and not too worried about the time. Not until Jake Lands and his crowd of dumb sheep showed up. 

For the most part, Liam had ignored them at school. They were full of white power bullshit and not enough brain cells among them to power a light bulb. Not to mention, Carl had told him that there had to be one Gallagher with a clean record. Just in case someone ever needed an alibi. It was a valid point, but he was getting real sick of playing it cool and being nice about it. 

“Gallagher!” Jake called out in feigned disbelief. “Imagine that! The little nerd at a library all by himself.” 

“Jake,” Liam drawled, lifting his brows and looking back at his book. “Gentlemen.” 

“Whatcha reading coonboy?” one of the others said, snatching his book out of his hands. “ _Roll of Thoon--”_

“Thunder,” Liam corrected sharply. “Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry. It’s a classic.” 

“ _It’s a classic_ ,” another one mocked, snickering. Jake snatched the book to look at it. 

“It about n-----s like you?” Jake sneered as he tore a page out of the book. Liam sighed, but didn’t dare look away from him. He’d read once that dominance was about never showing fear. And strong eye contact. 

“The _fuck_ you just call him?” 

They all turned around to see Mickey storming up the sidewalk, flicking a cigarette away, looking furious. He jabbed a finger in Jake's direction.

“You say what I think you said you fucking punk?”

He was coming up on them pretty fast, and Liam heard the Milkovich name get tossed around in a panicked whisper. But Jake was the stupid kind of thug. He'd throw himself at a brick wall if he was offended by it. 

“It’s fine, Mickey,” Liam said tiredly as Mickey brushed by him. He was not at all in the mood to talk to cops, and picked up his hastily discarded book with a sigh. Mickey got up in the kid's face, who was looking ready to shit himself.

"Nah nah nah, go ahead. Say it again, bitch, I _dare_ you."

Jake tried to stammer something out, but Mickey shoved at him, causing him to whimper.

"Yeah that's what I fucking thought. Gotta big mouth when it's a kid half your size, but that's all you are. A fucking _mouth_."

Liam sighed again, tapping Mickey on the shoulder. 

"You can get 2-4 years and a fine of ten thousand dollars for assaulting a minor as a convicted felon," he informed him, trying to sound as bored as possible. Ian would lose his mind if Mickey ended up in jail again. Especially over something stupid like this.

"Oh yeah?" Mickey responded, faking a lunge at Jake who dropped to the ground. "What'll fucking _murdering_ a minor get me?" The other guys took off running.

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response." Liam noticed a crowd gathering. They were drawing too much attention. He grabbed at Mickey's arm. "C'mon man, let's just go."

"One more thing." Mickey dropped to a crouch to stare Jake down. "You even thinking about _breathing_ in my kid's direction again, I will hunt you down and skin you. Then I'll shove all your nasty fucking skin up your KKK ass, do you understand me you worthless piece of shit?"

" _Jesus_ Mickey!"

Jake didn't respond fast enough so Mickey smacked his head. "Answer me asshole!"

"Yes! Yes, yes, I understand," Jake sobbed, "don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me."

Mickey straightened, sneer firmly in place.

"Fucking pathetic." He tossed a look around. "Shit, we better go."

"No," Liam drawled, "let's stay. I'm having a great time. This is fun for me."

Mickey palmed his head, shoving him along.

"Okay, shithead, whatever. Get movin'."

*

Ian came into the room while he and Mickey watched TV with Franny sat between them. Mickey was sprawled out, feet on the table, a hand behind his head, and drinking a beer. Franny was sprawled out, her feet on piled up pillows, hand behind her head, and drinking a juice box. Franny did everything Uncle Mickey did, and it was kind of hilarious.

"Mick? Why is Mrs. Lands texting the parent group chat asking for information about who threatened her son today?"

"The fuck should I know?" He frowned. "You're in a _parent_ group _chat_? Jesus Gallagher."

"Uh huh. Then why did she text the group a blurry picture of a guy standing over her son? A guy who looks a lot like you?"

"A white guy with dark hair? On the southside? Got me stumped." Liam looked over at him, impressed with his implacable stance on the subject. He wasn't even lying. Not really.

"Anything to add, Liam?"

He looked at Mickey again and shrugged.

"Jake Lands is a whiny bitch?"

Ian gestured between them, frowning.

"I don't like this. Whatever it is."

"Dunno what the fuck you're talking about. We're two guys just trying to watch some Dragon Tales with Ginger Junior."

"That's me!" Franny offered, raising her hand. Mickey gestured to her as if it was clearly the winning argument and Ian was the one being weird.

Ian spun on his heel to walk out again, eyes rolling. Liam watched Mickey carefully, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement about what had just happened. It never came. Mickey didn't ask for thanks or offer it up, just left it even. Like it wasn't even a thing.

"Sorry we couldn't study today," Liam said quietly.

"No sweat, kid. Just a stupid test anyway."

"No it's not. You could ace it. Wouldn't have to work that factory job."

"A job's a job."

"But a GED could get you a _better_ job. More money. Better hours."

"Still an ex con, so don't hold your breath."

"Yeah but…" he licked his lips and repositioned himself so Franny's hair wasn't in his face. "You're kind of inspirational."

"Sorry... _what_."

"I know you've done some stuff." Mickey snorted. "Bad stuff. But you served your time. You got out and you stood up to your dad so you could marry Ian. And you help look after us and take good care of Ian in probably the most homophobic neighborhood in the city."

"What's your point Mandela?

"My _point_ is that people would have to be nuts not to hire you after hearing your story! You rolled on a Mexican cartel so Ian didn't have to be in jail alone. Come _on_."

"It's not exactly a Cinderella Story."

"Yeah, it's better because it's real and doesn't perpetuate the economic and social oppression of impoverished women."

" _What_?"

"Can you just promise me you won't give up on it yet?"

Mickey stared at him over Franny's red little head. A lot of people were scared of Mickey. And with good reason. Mickey had seen a lot, done worse, and came out the other side better for it. That didn't happen very often to people on their side of town. Maybe people thought Mickey was bad news or that he was dangerous, but Liam didn't know that side of him. He knew the side that had always loved Ian. The side that treated all the Gallaghers like extensions of Ian, no matter how poorly that was received. He knew the Mickey worked two jobs to keep them afloat and pay for Ian's meds. He knew the Mickey who brought home dinner, but also snuck them junk food when nobody was looking. He knew the Mickey who babysat for Lip and Tammi and reamed out Debbie when she stayed out too late. Yeah, he carried a gun, cursed every other word, and got twitchy around hispanic people, but he looked after the people he cared about. He loved hard. Too hard, sometimes. 

But he was also scared, and Liam could see that better than any adult. Mickey didn't have a lot to call his own, and going out on a limb was risky for himself. 

"Why do you care so much?"

Liam could see the fear, the tension, all the things adults were supposed to hide from kids. He bit his lip and shrugged, turning back to the tv.

"Got my eye on a new play station. Need you suckers to level up if I'm gonna get it before I'm 30."

Mickey gave him a half smile, eyes lit up like he knew exactly what Liam was doing. 

"Thanks, kid," he said, reaching over to lightly push at his head. He patted Franny's legs. "Ten minutes, then time for bed, midget."

"Unca _Miiick_ \--" she whined. 

"Nope. Ten. Liam start the timer!"

"Be boop beep. Set!"

Franny whined theatrically, collapsing into the couch and making Liam laugh. He and Franny laughed until those ten minutes were up, and Mickey jogged back down the stairs to throw her over his shoulder.

*

Ian watched as Mickey put their niece to bed. Debbie was out again, working. For real this time. After her jailbird act, she'd gotten herself together, but she had to stay on the sex offender registry for six months. Which meant she really couldn't get a first or second shift. More like third and fourth. It sucked, but they were dealing with it. Franny was a champ. And Mickey swooped in like the superhero dad none of them had ever had. 

Mickey was sitting across from her bed, telling her a story. Not from a book. They didn't have those. He made a mental note to do a library run soon. As far as Ian could tell it was about something that happened in Mexico. There were guns and cops and too many swear words. Ian should have stopped him, but Franny looked totally caught up in it. Happy and smiling. So did Mickey, actually. It tugged at Ian's chest and opened up a bright spot for all the warmth to come in. 

Eventually, Mickey coerced her into resting, turning on her night light and smiling when he saw Ian waiting. They moved out into the hallway, shutting the door quietly. Franny's shrill shriek had Mickey wincing and opening the door a little. She called out a thank you and they moved away from the door as quick as they could. It was best to let her ride it out, or she'd get clingy, and they would never get any sleep. 

Ian kept a hand at Mickey's waist as they maneuvered the narrow hallway. It was strange to think that there was a time when Mickey didn't drift into his space, when he didn't pull Ian's arms around him, when he wasn't trying to stay close.

"Thank you," Ian whispered, pressing against his husband and putting lips to his temple. "She doesn't like my stories as much."

Mickey snorted, body pushing into Ian's hold. "Stop telling her about princesses then."

"Just running from the cops and drug runs, huh?" Ian teased ducking to kiss his face as he urged him to their room. He could feel Mickey's cheeks heat up, saw the swaths of red. 

They went through their own bedtime routine, easily navigating the shared space as if they'd been doing it forever. Happened when you shared a jail cell. Ian was quiet for once as Mickey talked. He complained about some jerk at work and Franny's daycare teacher, _Breanne_. Apparently she thought Franny's situation was very _sad_ , and Mickey didn't like her attitude. 

"She's got a shit ton of people who love her, she's clean and fed and smart, who gives a shit that her dad's dead and her mom's a criminal? That's Southside 101."

Ian listened to his ranting with a smirk, tidying up their room and picking out clothes for the next day. Mickey had become very sensitive about comments on Franny's care and appearance. People may have thought that was weird, but then again, they hadn't seen the way Mickey and Mandy ran around when they were kids. Mandy used to raid those clothing donation bins for new clothes, and Ian was pretty sure Mickey hadn't figured out soap until they hooked up. Even then, he hadn't been the cleanest. Ian never said anything. But around the time he started seeing Ned on the side, showers and a rotating wardrobe became a thing for Mickey. 

Mickey didn't want that life for Franny. He didn't want people thinking he was a shitty parent. So Franny's clothes were clean and hung up. Her hair was brushed and braided. Her skin was washed and lotioned. Her lunch box was full with balanced, healthy food. They told her stories every night and took her to the library whenever she wanted. They didn't have a lot for her, but what they had was good. And Debbie was definitely grateful. Called them Super Uncle-Dads. 

"You gonna tell me what happened with the Lands kid today?" Ian asked when he finally wore himself out from raging. Mickey sighed hard and loud, slumped onto the edge of the bed and rubbed his wrists into his eyes. Ian put down the shirt he was folding. "Mick?"

Mickey's hands went out, wild and spastic.

"He threatened our kid!" he spat venomously. Ian froze up completely, knowing his eyes had widened in shock. Mickey's face dropped when he realized what he'd said. "Your brother--our--" he broke off with a curse and flopped back onto the bed, hands on his face again. Ian moved slowly toward his side, sitting down next to him quietly, patiently. Waiting out...whatever this was. Mickey curled himself back into a sitting position hands in his lap and eyes on the floor.

"He was _just_ \---" His face twisted up in disgust. "I haven't been that pissed off since the fucking...Bamboo." Ian lifted a hand to rub his back, soothing, and pressed a kiss to his temple. Mickey pushed into it. "I only smacked him a _little_ \--"

"Mickey…" Ian sighed. He leapt up, pacing now.

"No! Fuck that. Liam has to listen to that racist bullshit every fucking day and he just _takes it_ . I hear it one fucking time and I lose it. On a _kid_."

"In your defense, you have been fag bashed several times." Mickey glared at him and Ian held his hands up in defeat. "Just saying."

"If Liam hadn't been there, I woulda beat that piece of shit into the concrete. I still would."

Ian grabbed for his waistband to pull him back. He went easily, but he chewed his lip and stared at his knuckles. They weren't so easy to read anymore. People got the gist, though.

"You mad?" Mickey asked quietly, not at all sure of himself. Ian rubbed his hands over his hips, grip firm and sure.

"No," he answered with a shake of his head. Mickey's eyes flicked up to him incredulously.

" _No_?"

Ian grinned. "You _want_ me to be mad?" Mickey turned sheepish again. "You defended my brother. Our kid. From some asshole who's been tormenting the shit outta him for years." Mickey exhaled, looking relieved. "So, no, I'm not mad." Mickey nodded, seeming to cool down. "Besides, his mom's a bitch. You know she had the nerve to tell me Liam's lucky to be alive?" Mickey snickered, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, we all know that, but you don't _say_ it."

"Cunt," Mickey mumbled.

"Exactly. So's her kid. Probably could use some smacking around. I hear his dad's a deadbeat."

"Join the club."

"Well Liam and Franny don't have that problem. They got you." Mickey scowled and tried to pull away. Ian used his momentum to wrangle him onto the bed and tuck him under his body, right where he couldn't escape. He didn't resist, but he did avoid eye contact.

"You feed em, help em, protect em, get em to school on time. Keep them safe, clean, and happy. You show up for him and put her to bed every night. You _love_ them. Mickey, that's being a dad, and you're good at it."

Mickey finally looked at him again, hand coming up to his face. Ian turned to press a kiss into it, bit the thick of it.

"They deserve better."

"They got the best. Fuck. Liam's been ditched more times than I can even count. You stepped in like it was nothing."

"He's got you, Carl, and Lip and...Frank."

"Fuck Frank."

Mickey smirked, still disbelieving. "You know he's trying to help me get my GED?"

"Of course I know, how do you think he figured out how to play you?" Mickey rolled his eyes, but was pulled back when Ian ducked to kiss him. Ian wondered if there would ever come a day that he would take kissing Mickey for granted. He didn't think so. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but those first kisses were hard won. Each one now was just another victory.

Ian would have kept talking. He would have told Mickey he was a good man and a wonderful caretaker. He would have reminded him how much he was loved, not just by Ian, but by the whole clan he had taken under his wing without blinking. He would have confessed that Carl and Lip had been trying to figure out how to hack into the GED testing system so Mickey could take the exact exam he studied for. He would have told him how Liam rolled his eyes and insisted Mickey could ace any test because he was smart enough. He would have told him about the stash of good luck cards Franny had made and intended to give him on the day he took the test. He would have said that Tami had said there was a guy she knew who was looking for a good worker and Mickey would fit the job once he got the paperwork. His former PO already had a list of backups and a couple of recommendation letters from himself and co-workers. 

Those were all things Mickey knew or would find out eventually. But right then, Ian was more than content to show him how much he was loved and appreciated by his husband. Everyone else would have to wait their turn.

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
